The greatest gift

I received an email from a client of mine on Friday and all it said was this:

"Hi George, just for your info/comments, here is the email I sent regarding the Holiday Cottage idea- and reply! 

m xx"

There's a story to this - and the email from her was just one of the most precious gifts I have ever received and here's why.  .  .

This is a beautiful soul, and for the sake of her privacy, I shall just refer to her as Em.
I got a call from her some weeks ago in which she almost implored me to 'save me from myself''.

The genesis of this story is in a Networking meeting in which she heard my presentation where I declare that my coaching style takes people on an amazing adventure, in which the participant is very likely to meet the most amazing person they are ever likely to meet - themselves.

Em was dealing with personal parcels for a long time which just simply weighed her down and stopped her from doing what her authenticity declared that she should.

Well, to cut a long story short, we got into session, and she very speedily located one of the 'parcels' in her mind that has stopped her from fully experiencing her life.

Now, one thing I have got to say about working with a coach, and that is, you have got to be brave, because coaches aren't there to be clowns, they're there to be coaches and as such can make some pretty tough demands along the way. Em, is one of those gorgeous souls who just trusted implicitly, and just set about attacking her fear right where she found it, and started to do that which she feared.

Her approach to the Holiday Company is something that she really wanted to do because she knew that could add value. Every time she even thought about an approach, her self-doubts, insecurities and simple 'self-sabotage self talk' would kill off any and all initiative even before she began.

"Well", I hear you ask "what happened?"

The long and the short of it is that Em got busy - she attacked the source of her 'immobility' and had the most amazing outcome because much to her surprise, the Holiday Company replied within 48 hours. Not only that, it turns out that they are already looking at an initiative along the lines that she described - and as a matter of fact, had established contact with a vendor already; however, they have got some immediate considerations on hand at this time, and will resume contact with her by the 6th April 2012.

Now on the face of it, this may not appear like a massive vistory, but in actual fact, in a metaphysical way, this is exactly like the mighty Yangste River - small beginnings. Here's why:

1. It has taught Em, that she should trust her instinct and ACT; and not rationalise! Had she acted when she'd first thought of it (about 9 months ago) - she'd have been in there already. They (the holiday company had only called in her rival about 6 weeks ago)
2. It has liberated Em's power to act by allowing her to allow people to make decisions for themselves, and not make those decisions in her mind for them (other people!). By not acting previously, EM made other peoples' minds up for them, and usually, it was in the negative.
3. It has taught EM, that 'NO' is okay. People are allowed to say 'NO' - removing the personal emotional connection from the word NO, frees us up to take more action, and consequently experience more WINS.

So why is this the best gift that I had received?

It's simply because I now truly know what my purpose in life really is. It's in the service of humanity. I know that I can't change the world, nor do I want to. But I do have the privilege to watch, read, see and hear the excitement in the life of another.

The liberation of potential that was always there is truly one of life's greatest blessings. One does not have to be a coach to experience such rich blessings though. The most wonderful thing you can do to grow another, is simply to believe in them and give them a reputation to live up to.

Some will fight you, some will not; that's okay.

I have long held that the most powerful number in the world is 1. Now, I know why!